Village defended

SIR – Having read various letters and articles about Wheathamp-stead by Cllr Shardlow in the Herts Advertiser over the last few weeks I m rather relieved that I m not a stranger house hunting in the area. If I was I d have given the village a wide berth i

SIR - Having read various letters and articles about Wheathamp-stead by Cllr Shardlow in the Herts Advertiser over the last few weeks I'm rather relieved that I'm not a stranger house hunting in the area. If I was I'd have given the village a wide berth in case I ended up with a tip in my back garden and no school for my children at 11.

Thankfully I'm a local and I know the facts about both the rumoured re-opening of Blackbridge tip and secondary school allocations.

Firstly I'd like to reassure everyone in Wheathampstead that Blackbridge tip will not and cannot be re-opened due to a longstanding legal agreement between Herts County Council, St Albans District Council and the developers. There has been some activity at the site recently which is being investigated but which has absolutely nothing at all to do with re-opening. This has been made clear by the portfolio holder, Derrick Ashley, and I have kept Cllr Shardlow fully informed. The site only appears in a consultation document as there is a legal requirement to list all sites that exist but it cannot be chosen.

Secondary school allocations were sent out last week and there are 17 children in Wheathampstead who haven't received a ranked school in the first wave. Whilst the majority of children have been given a school of choice I know from personal experience how worrying it is when your child isn't one of them. However, I would like to reassure parents that in recent years all Wheathampstead children have received a school of their choice by the end of the process. An invitation is being sent out to all 17 parents by admissions officers offering one-to-one guidance sessions which will be held at St Helen's School on March 11. I'm also here to help anyone who would like to contact me.

So, Wheathampstead is cared about.

It's a beautiful, vibrant village with a fantastic community and I want residents to feel proud of where they live.

I wonder why Cllr Shardlow persists in writing such negative articles about the plight of the village and then I remember- it's election time!

CLLR MAXINE CRAWLEY

County Councillor for St Albans Rural (Wheathampstead and Redbourn)